HOOVER, Ala. - With its 340-foot foul lines, 385-foot alleys and 405-foot centerfield wall, most folks put their money on the pitching at Regions Park.

Ole Miss pitchers, who lead the SEC with a 3.98 earned run average, hope that remains true this week.

The third-seeded Rebels, co-champs in the regular season, open SEC tournament play at 1:30 p.m. today against sixth-seeded Georgia. The Bulldogs (35-20, 15-15) were ranked No. 1 in the country in one poll when they lost two of three at Ole Miss April 24-26 but are unranked by a couple of the major polls now, having lost nine of 11 since leaving Oxford.

"Back in February I probably would have taken everything we've gotten," Georgia coach David Perno said. "We haven't been hitting the last couple of weeks, and before that we weren't pitching. We've got to get back to doing things better, and our timing has to improve."

Georgia hit 97 home runs in the regular season, third in the conference. The Rebels' (40-15, 20-10) 37 home runs allowed are the league's fewest.

"It's a great mix for us, especially the pitchers. Pitchers love a park like that," reliever Nathan Baker said.

Phillip Irwin, scheduled to start a third game, agreed.

"The big park's not going to get to us. We don't hit a lot of home runs anyway. We'll just hit more doubles and triples."

The Rebels have gained a lot of attention for their pitching, but the offensive numbers have been there too, particularly in the last nine games when Ole Miss has averaged nine runs.

The Rebels completed the regular season second in the SEC in batting (.316), third in on-base percentage (.405) and third in runs scored (429). Only Alabama and Ole Miss had more than 600 hits.

Ole Miss has reached the SEC's Saturday semifinals for four straight seasons, reaching the championship game three times and winning the title in 2005. Mike Bianco knows his team will have to do more than pitch to advance this season.

"We're a good fit for the park, but you still have to score. It's not like all the games are 2-1. Games have been won with home runs," he said.

Ole Miss defeated Georgia 4-1 in the opening round of last year's tournament.

"We know that when they played here they were ranked No. 1 in the country and were the most talented team we played," Bianco said. "What's fresh in our minds is watching them run arm after arm out of the bullpen when they were here."